"The Journals of the Davy Crockett commencing December 20th 1834

BY ASBURY C JAQUESS
OF POSEY CO. INDIANA———"

Having finished taking in our loading we set sail from John Robbertson's on the 20 Day of December 1834 for New Orleans. Our boat was 80 feet long & 17 feet wide. She had about 1700 bushels of corn on bord also 11,000 weight of pork, 3 thousand weight of beef in barrels, 6 large steers, 15 bushels of oats, 40 kegs of lard, 30 dozen of chickens & 40 Turkeys. She had five hands on deck, viz Christopher Ashworth, steersman & pilot; Adam G. Ashworth, Captain; Benjamin Acuff, Bowsman; Jackson Ashworth, Cook; Asbury C. Jaquess, Clerk & Journalist of the voyage.1	1
A sketch of a flatboat The artist clearly shows the large steering rudder aft and the two sweeps forward. Courtesy, Bass Photo Collection, Indiana Historical Society
Dec 20 With the above lading and equipment we set sail at half pas 4 P.M. droped down 2 miles & landed on the Illinoise side at sun down 1 mile above the Little Wabash mouth under a large stooping sycamore in deep edy watter.	2
21st Loosed cable half hour by sun A.M. landed at Thom Bucks at 12 with the intention of taking in more corn but failed in getting it. We put out again at 1 oclock. While we were lay ing there John B. More passd us. We arived at the mouth of the Wabash at 3 oclock and found it falling vary fast. We landed at Rolly (a small town on the Kentuck side) at sun down in shallow watter. 2 steam boats pased at dusk.	3
22nd Monday Put out at 4 oclock A.M. pased Shawnee at Day break (a small town on the Illinoise side). We had the pleasure to day of seeing some of the most stupendious scenes in nature. Of the west we pased Batterry Rock first on the right hand shore. It rises to the heighth of 200 feet with a perpendicular bluff presenting to the astonished beholder a front of sollid rock 1/2 mile in length. A. G. Ashworth & I got in our canoe, pased imediately under the battery and landed at the mouth of the celebrated 'cave in rock'. We entered it and found it to be about 50 yards in length, 10 in breath & about 15 feet in height with an arched roof. The floor gently rises as you advance to the fartherest part of it. When you speak your voise rings harmoniously & the names of thousands are written & engravd in this cavern2—our boat pased close by the head of Huricane Island and we landed on the right side of the river at sun down in shallow watter and rocky shore. 5 other Indiana boats landed by us here. We fell in company with Joseph Jolly.	4
23rd Tuesday Loosed cable at 1/2 past 4 A.M. when we got within 2 1/2 miles of Goleonda. I took the canoe and went on a head to see John Taylor but I could not hear any thing of him. We landed 1/2 hour by sun on the Ky side in deep watter 1 mile & a 1/2 above Dog Island. Jolly landed just below us. We have the appearance of bad wether.	. . .